Nathan Lewis: Why gold is still the best basis for money

As we continue to enjoy the "Yellen gold standard," now in its Powell phase -- who knows how long it will last? -- let's look at why the gold standard system worked so well for so many centuries, including nearly two centuries of U.S. history before the rupture in 1971, during which time the United States became the wealthiest country in history.

In 1971 the economist Arthur Laffer -- at the time the chief economist of the Office of Management and Budget -- was asked what he thought the consequences would be of Nixon's "closing of the gold window," which effectively ended the Bretton Woods period when the dollar's value was fixed at $35 per ounce of gold.

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"It won't be as much fun to be an American anymore," Laffer reportedly replied. And he was right.

But why? Why is it that the collective intelligence (let's be generous) of today's central bankers, and indeed all the central bankers since 1971, cannot outperform a yellow rock? This probably strikes some as bizarre, but it has always been thus. ...